Television: The Plug-in Drug by Marie Winn is a nonfictional work that informs the audience of the influence television has had for Americans. Winn explains how television became integral to American society and the negative effects that has produced. It was first written in 1977, so the occasion is that television had become a norm in America. Winn most likely chose to write about television because she was born in 1936, and witnessed the introduction of television into society and saw its effects firsthand. Since the majority of the work explains the effect that television has on families, I can conclude that she wasn't happy with how important television had become to the American family unit.
This passage is written to American parents. The purpose of directing the passage to this audience is to show them how television can have negative effects when they allow their family time to be dominated by television. Winn wrote this in order to make Americans refocus their family life and decrease the amount of television that children are allowed to watch. The author increases her credibility by presenting examples of how the facts she has given are actually real life problems. Winn explains how a frustrated mother had to set up a television watching schedule to keep her children from fighting and to give her and her husband a break from their sons. The ironic part about this anecdote is that the only issue the mother sees is that before the boys go to bed there are no good children shows on; while the author makes the point that the larger issue is that the family's daily lives are focused around the television.
Works Cited:
Winn, Marie. "Television: The Plug-in Drug." 1977. Web. 7 Dec. 2015.
This passage is written to American parents. The purpose of directing the passage to this audience is to show them how television can have negative effects when they allow their family time to be dominated by television. Winn wrote this in order to make Americans refocus their family life and decrease the amount of television that children are allowed to watch. The author increases her credibility by presenting examples of how the facts she has given are actually real life problems. Winn explains how a frustrated mother had to set up a television watching schedule to keep her children from fighting and to give her and her husband a break from their sons. The ironic part about this anecdote is that the only issue the mother sees is that before the boys go to bed there are no good children shows on; while the author makes the point that the larger issue is that the family's daily lives are focused around the television.
Works Cited:
Winn, Marie. "Television: The Plug-in Drug." 1977. Web. 7 Dec. 2015.